Jannah Theme License is not validated, Go to the theme options page to validate the license, You need a single license for each domain name.
Canada

Canada’s Cup returns full circle with ‘proud moment’ for Randy Samuel

The member of Canada’s only World Cup qualifier sees similarities between his team and the one playing in Qatar this week.

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn affiliate commissions from purchases made through links on this page.

Article content

Randy Samuel, along with 4 million other people in Canada on Wednesday, watched Canada play Belgium in the World Cup opener.

advertising 2

Article content

That Les Rouges ended up in Qatar after a twisting and changing difficult qualifying process came as a surprise to those who hadn’t paid attention to the team’s evolution. But holy he was a veteran of his team in the 1986 Cup, and for Samuel the only other Canadian club to make an appearance, when he saw the red-shirted team line up on the pitch at Qatar’s Al Rayyan Stadium, it was a no-brainer. Another surprise awaited him.

Article content

“I was surprised by the emotions I felt. I didn’t expect to have those emotions.” It’s really a reminder of everything that’s happened, and it really brings it full circle… me and many other players were Canadian pioneers.

advertising 3

Article content

“It’s been a long time since it happened a second time.”

Another wrinkle was the similarities Samuel, now 58, saw between the teams, starting with opponents of similar height.

Canada’s first opponent in 1986 was European champion France, led by Michel Platini, the best player in the world at the time. In 2022, Belgium is ranked No. 2 in the world, relegated to middle position by Kevin De Bruyne.

But Samuel also saw the national team playing like a club team. A tight-knit core of players united by culture and common purpose. Like in 1986.

The only professional league with a team in Canada, the NASL, disbanded in 1984 and few players found jobs in Europe. So the Canadian toured. Middle East, Africa, Caribbean — “Everywhere,” said Samuel.

Advertising 4

Article content

“(The death of the NASL) was kind of a blessing in disguise as the national team became more like a club team. Months of preparation really helped me qualify for the ’86 World Cup, but it wasn’t planned,” he said.

“(Today), brotherhood. You can see they have the brotherhood that we get from being together as a group. is a lot of

It’s very, very scary to me. It seems that the perfect storm for us has just happened for them. But the difference is… the development concept of our country (now) is different. So hopefully this kind of perfect storm will continue to be born. ”

Trinidad-born Samuel knows a little bit about development. During his professional career in Europe, which included his three teams in the Netherlands (PSV, FC Volendam and Fortuna his sittard), his youth coaching was part of the player’s duties. He has taken it back to Surrey and is running a development program for returning pros in the off-season for players just starting out in the game.

Advertising 5

Article content

Canada was the first country to qualify for the Cup without having a domestic league in 1986, but the CPL is now three years old and thriving.

Samuel said Canada’s reaching Qatar in the qualifiers ahead of its status as the 2026 host team was the result of a gradual shift in the tide.

“I think 1998 was a turning point for our whole country,” he said of the team’s ill-fated and agonizing run in qualifying for the 1998 Cup in France in 1998. rice field. “I’m talking about corporations, I’m talking about governments. They accepted it. So the money came. The investment came.

“Going back to 1986 when we qualified, it didn’t exist. It was just a tiny pocket of people who came in to support the team, but it wasn’t on a national scale.

Advertising 6

Article content

“That’s the maturity of what’s going on in our country right now. When I’m doing a training session, the kids are wearing Alphonso Davies jerseys now, but I’m wearing a national team player back then. I never saw children wearing it.”

Samuel praises the women’s varsity team for keeping the flames burning while the men’s team has experienced years of disappointment, and hopes the current cup exposure will lift the flames even higher .

“What we have to do now is capitalize on their achievement of reaching Qatar.In the next four years, we will see if our country is ready to have football as a national staple. “You have all the platforms. The foundation is there…there are domestic leagues. There are established players in Europe. Soaring.

“Now we have no excuses. We had excuses as to why we weren’t developing consistently good players. Now we’re not.”

jadams@postmedia.com

twitter.com/TheRealJJAdams

    advertising 1

comment

Postmedia is committed to maintaining an active yet respectful forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their opinions on our articles. It may take up to an hour to moderate your comments before they appear on the site. Please keep your comments relevant and respectful. You have enabled email notifications. You will now receive an email when you receive a reply to a comment, when a comment thread you are following is updated, or when someone is following your comment. For more information and details on how to adjust your email preferences, please see our Community Guidelines.



Canada’s Cup returns full circle with ‘proud moment’ for Randy Samuel

Source link Canada’s Cup returns full circle with ‘proud moment’ for Randy Samuel

Related Articles

Back to top button